and i just keep on waiting (under the mistletoe)
by samandfreddie
Summary: what a cliché, he thought as he carried the steaming mugs out of the kitchen, to fall in love during the most beautiful time of the year. sam&freddie


**_author's note: title is from the song "all i want for christmas" by mariah carey. is it christmas yet? no. was i hit by a sudden burst of inspiration to write a sf holiday fic? yes. review and tell me what you think. disclaimer: i don't own what i don't own. eiddes. {lauren}_**

x

sam puckett blew a breath of warm air out of her lungs, lifting both of her gloved hands instantly to catch the little bit of heat that came with it.

seattle rarely experienced snow, and when they did, it was always only just an inch or two above the ground. still, it was beautiful to look at while it lasted, even though it didn't last very long. usually, sam would be ecstatic to see the little flakes and would try to (stupidly) catch them on the tip of her tongue but today, she had carelessly left her house with only a thin coat and a pair of her more worn gloves.

her teeth clattered and she was pretty sure that her ears were frozen but she soldiered on, knowing that bushwell plaza was only a mere few minutes away.

when she finally arrived, she was not at all surprised to see the lobby empty. lewbert and his wart were safely tucked away in his office, something about the "snow freezing my wart off!" or something just as ridiculous as that. she rolled her eyes at the thought.

sam repressed a small smile as she took the elevator to the eighth floor. something about cold days, because she couldn't really call them snow days, always seemed to put her in a good mood. maybe, it was because carly and her always spent days like this together, inside her cozy apartment drinking hot chocolate that spencer would make for them and just having a nice and peaceful day in their pajamas and fuzzy socks.

she heard the 'ding' of the elevator, signaling her stop and she immediately rushed out, finding herself in front of apartment 8c in no time and started pounding on the shay's door.

"carly!" sam shouted, continuing her assault on the poor piece of wood, "shay, open up!" she repeated her shouts and knocks, oblivious to the ruckus she was causing.

across the narrow hall, inside apartment 8d, freddie benson was having breakfast alone, his mother having left for an early shift at the hospital, when he almost chocked on his cereal out of surprise at the sudden onslaught of noise outside his apartment.

having a vague idea of what, or better yet, who it was, he stood up and tentatively opened his door just a little short of a crack.

spotting golden hair, the corner of his lips unknowingly tugged up at the corners. he cleared his throat, this capturing the blonde's attention immediately.

"freddork?" sam's voice was confused and with a hint of irritation, she had been pounding on this door for a minute already and god knows, she was never one for patience.

but despite her irritation, she couldn't help but sweep her eyes over freddie, taking in his tousled hair and how his eyes glowed fresh from a good night's sleep. she quickly averted her eyes, hoping he didn't caught her staring.

freddie smiled at her and said, "hey, sam. um, carly and spencer aren't home. they went on an impromptu trip to yakima last night because apparently, their grandfather called and said he was lonely. you know how they are, they couldn't say no." freddie chuckled at the end of his statement and sam joined him, although her's sounded rather odd.

noticing how her shoulders had suddenly slumped, he frowned.

"what's wrong, sam?" he asked her and instantly, her back straightened and she looked ready to take on anything again, like she always did. if he was being honest, he'd always admired her control. even though it always seemed to be lacking when it came to choosing between legal and illegal actions.

she smirked, although it lacked her usual vigor, "nothing's wrong, nub. well, aside from this," she stepped near him to slap both sides of his face and he groaned, making her smirk grow wider. she couldn't help it.

"i should have known you were gonna do that," he shook his head, "but seriously, what's wrong?" he wasn't going to let it go that easily.

this time, instead of denying or lying, sam actually sighed rather sadly. she licked her lips, his eyes automatically darting to them at the movement.

"it's just that carly and i always spend days like this together, you know? we'd sit on her couch all day drinking hot chocolate and wearing mismatched socks and i was just looking forward to it, is all." her eyebrows furrowed, "i don't even know why i'm so upset about this."

freddie's heart softened. sam may come off as indifferent but when it came to carly, she was like a little kid in a candy store. he found it quite adorable, really.

freddie came forward, squeezing her shoulder. "i'm sorry about that, sam, but carly will be back tomorrow and in two days, it would be christmas and you both will have plenty of time to spend together ..." he hesitated before continuing, "... but if you want, i have hot chocolate waiting to be made in my apartment right now and well, i could use the company." he grinned nervously, waiting for an answer. he found himself hoping that she would say yes. it registered in his mind that the skin of sam's shoulder under his palm felt so smooth and he felt the urge to caress it. he didn't, though.

sam felt touched at the fact that freddie, for all her faults and flaws, was trying to cheer her up, even though she felt that sometimes, she didn't deserve how much he put up with her.

still, she couldn't help but tease him a little. it was what made them samfreddie after all.

"nah, i wouldn't be caught dead hanging out with a nub like you," at his crestfallen look she quickly backtracked, "i'm kidding, tech stooge! lead the way." she grabbed his hand that had been on her shoulder for good measure and grinned up at him. warmth flooded to the tips of her fingertips at the action.

like magic, his frown turned upside down and he intertwined their fingers, gently tugging her along inside his home and shutting the door softly behind them.

when they got inside, he still hadn't let go of her hand and instead, had started rubbing small circles on her palm with his thumb.

sam, not quite knowing why, blushed at the action and cleared her throat awkwardly, "um, fredamame, ..."

freddie's head snapped towards her and seeing her glance at their hands, instantly let go, his face turning as red as a tomato when he realized what he had just done.

sam just laughed it off, plopping down on the benson's sofa, "go get a move on with that hot chocolate, benson!" with that, she flicked the television in front of her on and proceeded to surf the channels, paying him no mind.

freddie went to the kitchen to prepare their drinks but his eyes drifted towards sam, who's head was facing away from him.

he's always noticed sam, i mean, who wouldn't? like it or not, sam puckett was the life of the party. whether it be her angelic looks or her devilish ways, the spotlight always managed to be on her. it was hard not to notice her, really.

but lately, he's starting to notice her in a different way. like how her blonde hair used to be that, just hair, and now it seemed to him that it was silky strands of gold that wanted to spin itself on his fingers. or how her blue eyes used to be intimidating and yet now, they were just hypnotizing. and worst of all, her lips. they were always just there, in a permanent ruby pout ― beckoning him towards them like the devil itself asking you to sin.

he shook his head.

he fears he's known it all along, that it would come to this. but he couldn't stop it if he tried. in a way, and as much as he is a hopeless romantic at heart, it felt ... right. like it was meant to be.

freddie benson was falling in love with sam puckett.

 _what a cliché_ , he thought as he carried the steaming mugs out of the kitchen, _to fall in love during the most beautiful time of the year._

unbeknownst to him, sam had wandered off to his bedroom while he was busy in the kitchen. setting down the mugs on the coffee table, he groaned, wondering how much havoc she has managed to wreak in the past few minutes.

he hurried to his bedroom, expecting to see his _galaxy wars_ posters torn from the walls where they hung or his clothes tampered with and even his laptop broken (he'd seen her break a phone with only her own two hands and has never doubted it since) but to his surprise, she was simply curled up on his bed.

his navy blue comforter (thank god, he had enough sense to change his _nug-nug_ sheets) was tucked under her chin, her hands fisting the top to keep it there. she had put his pillows against the headboard and was laying back on it, her yellow hair contrasting with the darkness of its blue color. her eyes were closed, her lashes kissing her cheeks and there was a tint of red on the tip of her nose and the part of her ears that he was able to see.

freddie swallowed thickly.

he had never seen such a beautiful sight. he couldn't find words to explain how he feels ... it simply looked so _right_. she looked a lot at home and in place right there inside his apartment, laying on his bed and cuddling into his blanket. like she belonged there.

he briefly hesitated, wondering if he should tell her that their drinks were ready, not willing to disturb her peace but she spoke before he could, "what are you staring at, fredward?" opening her eyes slowly, she raised an eyebrow at him.

he chuckled nervously and answered only in his head ( _you_ ) and said, "the drinks are in the living room, sam. anyway, what are you doing here?" he hastily added, "not that i mind, of course!"

she yawned, her nose crunching up gracefully, "i was cold." she mentally berated herself for sounding so whiny.

she had unknowingly pouted and freddie's eyes widened before he turned away, afraid he would do something that would surely end up in a beating. he simply opened one of his drawers, taking out a thick black hoodie that he only used when it was very cold.

he gave it to her and grinned, "here, you can borrow this. now come on, before the drinks grow cold!" he left the room before he could catch the grateful smile sam gave him and also missed how she briefly held the fabric near her nose, a blissful expression passing her face.

she quickly threw it on, following him out the room.

but before she could take one more step, the urge to pee suddenly swept through her and she bit her bottom lip, hollering, "freddumb!"

freddie stood from where he had been sitting in the living room, drowning in the thoughts of her, and hollered back, making his way towards her, "what?"

"i need to pee!" he rolled his eyes, only sam would want to share information like this at random.

"okay? then go pee!"

"where's your bathroom?" he felt little surprise at the fact that even until now, sam was unfamiliar with his home. they did, after all, usually stuck to carly's.

"i'm coming!"

he saw sam standing near the door of his bedroom and stopped, "finally! fredd―" she stopped midword, eyes widening as her mouth formed a small circle.

he frowned. "what? what's wrong? sam!'" he waved a hand over her eyes, snapping her out of her seemingly shocked trance.

"fre-fr-freddie," her eyes were trained on something above him, "look!"

he did and instantly recognized the green leaves on the festive plant.

his mother had thought it would be nice to place them around the apartment, one of her tactics of giving him affection now that he was almost all grown up and was graduating soon. he had simply ignored them, knowing that pleading for her to take it down would amount to nothing but her bursting into tears. (" _my little freddiekins is all grown up!_ ")

now, though, standing right under it with a flustered sam (although, he wasn't quite sure if that was due to their situation or the fact that her bladder was on the verge of exploding) and the implications flashing through his mind, he was sort of glad that it was there.

he looked down, his gaze burning a hole on the floor as he gathered all his courage to ask her, "well, what do you say?"

sam, who also had her head bowed, looked at him in shock, not quite believing what he was saying.

"wait, you _want_ to kiss me?" she was pleasantly surprised at this, though she ignored the fireworks in her stomach at the thought of kissing him.

 _again_ , she added as an afterthought.

he flushed, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his head. "it's not the first time, is it?" his voice was quiet and shy and dare she think it, _hopeful_.

she felt a smirk growing on her face, what did she have to lose?

in typical sam attitude, she stepped forward and put her right hand on the back of his neck, pulled him closer and pressed her lips to his softly, letting the kiss linger.

his eyes remained opened, shock coursing through his veins at what had just happened. he couldn't believe it was happening. but he soon relaxed into the kiss and put his hands on her slim waist, responding eagerly to her kiss.

soon, they ran out of oxygen and pulled away from each other's lips, but remained in position. sam pressed her forehead against his, trying to catch her breath.

"i like you, sam." freddie confessed in a rush, both due to nervousness and being out of breath. it suddenly came out, what with the moment that had just preceded them and the adrenaline still in his system.

sam just smiled, a reaction he didn't expect.

"we'll talk about this later, nub." she assured him, not quite wanting to outright tell him her feelings, despite knowing the answer. besides, it was fun watching him squirm. "but now, let's just enjoy the moment."

he agreed, feeling a sort of relief at having said his feelings and at the prospect of her feeling the same towards him growing higher, if the kiss that followed her statement was any proof. he sighed into her mouth, happiness filling him up to the brim.

sam suddenly untangled herself from him. he blinked in confusion.

"wha― ?"

"oh god, i really need to pee!" she ran towards the bathroom that she had been so near to from the start, shutting the door loudly behind her.

he couldn't help but laugh.

 _it's amazing how the holidays can bring people together_ , he thought with a grin.

 _thanks, mom._


End file.
